"Scattered pieces of people's lives": Stories of residents of the high-rise building in Kyiv damaged in overnight attack

On the night of 23-24 June, the Russians hit a residential building in the Solomianskyi district of Kyiv. So far, three deaths have been confirmed, and search and rescue operations are ongoing.

Zhyttia asked residents of the apartment block about the tragic events of that night.

"We usually go to the shelter during air-raid warnings, but last night, we decided to sleep," recalls Vlad Mashkin. "We didn’t hear the air defence [system] operating outside the window, or the explosions. We woke up to the fire alarm blaring really loudly. We ran out of the apartment: everything was covered in dust and smoke."

Vlad and his girlfriend Yana live in a section of the building that is next to the one that was hit. They went down to the car park together after the blast. Emergency workers were beginning to put the fire out.

"The cars outside in the yard were all smashed by concrete that flew out of the apartments hit by the missile.

After the all-clear was given, we went to see what had happened. There was a lot of rubbish lying around; people cut their feet on the glass. But what's worse is that we saw pieces of bodies scattered all over the yard. Later, the police covered up those pieces," he says.

Vlad ran back into the apartment to get some water and documents, and also helped his neighbour to find her cat. Vlad says his car was also damaged – the windows, hood, wing and headlights are broken – but the police have already calculated the damage.

"It flew into our building," Yana adds. "It's scarier in the dark. When it gets light, the destruction becomes visible. Neighbours are calling to find out if we're alive. One, two, three… I'm not calling my mother, I’ll let her sleep peacefully without [this] news. I'm standing here in my pyjamas; all I have with me is the dog, Vlad, and the air conditioner remote control.

Our apartment block is full of blood. Photos of injured people. Someone’s shouting: have you seen my dog? In an apartment which is no longer there, firemen are using a lamp. They are searching, but there is nothing to search for. It's black and empty."

Yana says that on 23 June, she and Vlad were supposed to have left Kyiv for a month, but they had to stay another day because of their work.

"We’re alive, that's the most important thing. A chorus of alarms and radios of firefighters, police and ambulances. I've imagined so many times what I’d do when this happened, but I'm standing on the street confused and don't know what to do," Yana shares

Toma, a designer, lives in the section that was hit by the missile . She described what happened to her in an Instagram story.

"I had a terrible dream a month and a half ago," she says. "Then there was a powerful explosion on 16 May: I was very scared. We started going to the shelter constantly. Yesterday, I said to my husband: 'Maybe we shouldn't go…the city is kind of protected.' But he insisted."

So she was in the basement at the time of the blast. She says everything was shaking and engulfed in smoke because the strike hit right at her entrance.

Toma describes the situation: "Two floors have just gone. There was a huge fire. All the cars in the complex have been trashed, including ours. Pieces of people’s lives are scattered throughout the complex: pages from books, pieces of furniture, belongings, money.

 After the all-clear was given, we ran to the entrance to get our documents because the building was flooding. All the windows on the floor had been blown out, the neighbours' apartments were flooded, but ours was still dry. There were no lifts – everything was wrecked."

Toma adds that they quickly gathered together a few of their belongings, including their passports, and are now confused about what to do next.

"I had a premonition: for a couple of days in a row, I’d had a feeling that something was going to happen to our building. But I convinced myself that these were just the kind of scary thoughts everyone has now," Toma says.

Ksenia Semenova, a lawmaker at the Kyiv City State Administration, reported that an advice centre for victims of the overnight attack has been set up at School 115 (10, Kavkazka St.).

If you can't return to your apartment, you can file an application for financial assistance and information on temporary accommodation.

You need to come to the aid centre in person or call +380 (93) 480 11 81 and 0442482314.

If your apartment is damaged, you need to submit an application via the Diya app.

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